GtkCAD

Free modular CAD/CAM/CAE Software

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NOTICE:

Due to contractual obligations with my new employer, and the lack
of known users, I have decided to suspend the active development of GtkCAD.

If anyone wants to re-activate, fork, or steal code for another
project, please let me know and I will try and help you figure it all out.

Abstract

When engineers start a new project, they must use many separate
programs to design, analyze, and create the production drawings. These separate programs
are most likely from different vendors using non-compatible data formats. The translation
process between all these data formats can take many non-productive hours. In addition,
any changes to the design often affect many separate drawings and software programs that
must be changed independently

GtkCAD is a new program that attempts to solve many of these problems by
integrating these many individual programs into a program suite with a single user
interface and a common data format.

GtkCAD's modular design allows the user to load plug-in modules at runtime to add the
functionality needed for the task at hand. The modular design also allows the user to
customize GtkCAD to suit their particular needs at any given time. For example the
hydrostatics program, used by naval architects, may not be very useful to civil engineers.
This potential cost savings feature allows a customer to custom-build a system based upon
their needs.

Linux is a true multi-user Operating System, and GtkCAD is designed to take advantage
of this by allowing multiple engineers to use a single binary copy of the program simultaneously.
The use of shared libraries lowers the memory footprint by allowing multiple users of the program to
share a single copy of the library, and also saves time during software upgrades. The use of a SQL
database also allows controlled access of the data by several engineers simultaneously, remotely if
necessary.

GtkCAD is being developed using the Open Source development model. With this model
groups of diverse software developers work on a common software project, often volunteering their time.
Anybody is allowed to contribute to the project. In return, the software is freely distributed to the
end user with little restrictions on its use, modification, or redistribution.

GtkCAD aims at developing a modular, full featured, modern CAD/CAE/CAM system for GNU/Linux.
It will take advantage of parallel processing as appropiate.

GtkCAD is free software licenced under the Free Software Foundations's GPL. It will only depend on
the free software libraries Gtk+, Mesa 3D,
and the PostgreSQL Database

GtkCAD is being written because there are currently no CAD systems that have been developed
for the LINUX operating system that meets the needs of the naval architecture community. This software is an attempt
to fill those needs.

GtkCAD is being written in C using GTK+ and OpenGL libraries. C was chosen because it is the most familiar
language to myself and most *NIX programmers, and due to the volume of the available code base. Gtk+ and OpenGL were chosen to ease
the burden of GUI development. GtkCAD strives to be desktop independent.